Hello! :-) I'm adding my two latest chapters. There is good/happy E&L news in one of these chapters. :-) Thank you for your continued kind reviews and comments. :-)

Chapter 12

Lucas managed to enter his home without being seen and immediately plopped down on the sofa. He needed a moment or two before he called Rosemary. He looked down and saw two of Jack's toys, which he picked up and set on a nearby table and then he noticed the wet spot that remained where Elizabeth had been standing when her water broke. Had that really been only a few hours earlier?

As if by rote, he rose and went into the kitchen to get a towel to wipe up the water and then returned it to the kitchen. Walking towards the telephone, Lucas's dark eyes landed on Elizabeth's typewriter. A piece of white paper with typewritten words clearly visible sat in the roller. He half-smiled as he crossed to see what she had been typing. Her latest chapter no doubt, he thought, as he then spotted her open journal on her writing desk. She had been so busy, and he knew she loved every moment of it. He sat down in her chair and after emitting a weary sigh, he saw their wedding picture, in a gold decorated frame he had bought for her, sitting proudly on the corner of her desk.

How am I going to do this?

He knew he needed to call Rosemary. The sooner Jack knew the better. As he glanced once more at their happy smiling faces gracing the frame, he recalled another wedding picture that had sat in the exact same spot. How had Elizabeth functioned after losing Jack? That thought hit him like a bolt of lightning. She had been alone and pregnant, grieving and heartsick after losing the man of her dreams, and yet she had managed to move on with her life and had given birth to a healthy little boy, in a cabin, no less. He knew she had been surrounded by wonderful and supportive friends, yet every long, lonely night, she had sat alone in this house with most likely her fears and her doubts and her heartache and tears as her only companions.

C'mon, Bouchard, you can absolutely do this. Think about what your wife went through. Alone. Elizabeth is coming back to you. You have not lost her. You need to step up and take care of what matters the most. Your family.

With renewed determination, he picked up the phone and asked Molly to place a call to Rosemary. When he heard Rosemary's voice, he asked her not to say his name.

"Okay. Why?"

"Is Jack near you? Just answer yes or no."

"No. What is going on? Jack is upstairs with David and Laura."

"Is Julie with you?"

"Yes."

"Please ask her to come to my house. Now."

"Are you there?"

"Yes."

"We'll be right over."

"Rosemary? You need to tell Laura if you're coming, too, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then don't say you're coming here. I'll explain everything once you arrive."

A few minutes later, Julie and Rosemary entered the house.

"What is going on?" Rosemary demanded.

Julie nodded that she wanted to know, too.

"Jack doesn't know you're here, right?" Lucas asked, his voice weary.

"No," Rosemary responded. "I told Laura we had to run an errand. They're fine. You, obviously, are not."

"Please, sit down."

Julie and Rosemary sat on the sofa. Lucas pulled up the chair from Elizabeth's writing desk.

"I guess I can tell you the same way Carson told me. Elizabeth and I have a beautiful baby girl."

"Lucas, that's wonderful!" Rosemary gushed. "Congratulations!"

"Yes, Lucas," Julie said, noting his furrowed brow and the worry in his eyes. "That is wonderful, but I sense that's not all the news you have to share."

"It's not," he said, running his hands along his beard. "During and after giving birth, Elizabeth lost a lot of blood…"

The two women gasped in concern and reached for each other's hands.

"Carson says Elizabeth is going to be fine, but she went into shock and has not opened her eyes since. She looks so frail and sickly. I want to be with her and take care of Amelia at the Infirmary, but I also need to talk to Jack and pray he can understand why he might not see his mother and sister for a few days."

"A few days?!" Rosemary exclaimed.

Lucas nodded. "I think that's the best case scenario at this point. Carson and Francine tell me Elizabeth needs time to heal, and this is the way it needs to happen."

"You're not going to be here for a few days?" Julie asked. "Lucas, you can't do that to Jack. He will not understand."

"I know. I'm trying to balance what to tell him and how long to be gone. Or how often. I need to do this for Elizabeth. Our daughter needs us, too, and I am the only parent available at the moment."

"I can stay here with Jack," Julie said. "That's not a problem. But him not seeing any of you for a few days or possibly longer, he's going to know something is wrong."

"I want to try to explain why his mother can't be here without going into any detail. I don't fully understand what happened; of course, he's not going to understand. But I need him to be okay, too. Carson thinks I should have other people around when I tell him."

"We will be there," Rosemary said. "And so will Lee. He should be home soon. What about your uncle?"

"I need to call him."

"We can have sleepovers," Rosemary suggested. "Julie, you and Jack don't have to be alone. You can stay with us."

Julie looked at Lucas who nodded and then spoke.

"I'm fine with that as long as Jack is. He is my priority. I will see him at times, but I just don't think I can be here like I should. I feel I need to be at the Infirmary."

"We will do whatever we can," Rosemary said.

"Thank you, Rosemary," Lucas said, his voice filled with gratitude. "I also thought about Bill and Abigail. Maybe they can help with Jack, too."

"I will let them know. I'll tell Clara, too. She can let Jesse know. We should get a prayer vigil going. It sounds like Elizabeth will be okay, hopefully soon, but maybe our prayers will help her get better faster."

"That would be appreciated," Lucas said. "Thank you. We could certainly use any and all prayers."

"You don't seem like you believe what Carson is telling you," Julie said, eyeing Lucas carefully. "You have told us everything, haven't you?"

"I have. This is me being overly cautious. I saw Elizabeth. She doesn't look well. At all. But I understand she's suffered a trauma and needs time to heal. Carson and Francine both told me Elizabeth can hear me and feel my touch even if she can't acknowledge it."

"It's good that Faith is there now, too," Rosemary said. "At least Carson doesn't have to be there around the clock."

"I'm not so sure about Faith," Lucas confessed.

Rosemary looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"She ran out, crying and apologizing to me before I even knew what had happened. She ran down the street, away from the Infirmary and never returned. At least, not while I was there. I got the feeling she believes this is somehow her fault. She seemed badly shaken when she ran past me. I'm not sure she's going to be returning and if she does, I'm not sure she's going to be in any condition to assist."

"Oh, dear," Rosemary said. "That does not sound good. At all. I hope she and Carson will be able to talk. He's going to need her. I'm glad Francine is there."

"Me, too. She's so good with Amelia, and I think she was a big help with Elizabeth, too, from the little they told me."

"We know you need to talk to Jack," Julie said, "but tell us about your daughter, Lucas. Tell us about Amelia Catherine Bouchard. Please."

Lucas's features softened immediately. He couldn't keep the huge dimpled smile from appearing on his face.

"She is absolutely beautiful. I know I'm biased, but she is."

"Who does she look like?" Julie asked excitedly.

Lucas lowered his head a little as he thought about how much of himself he saw in her. "Well, so far, her eyes are like mine and her hair is medium brown. I think she may have Elizabeth's nose and her cheeks. She's just adorable."

"Amelia Catherine sounds like a doll," Rosemary said and sighed. "We are very happy and relieved she's healthy."

"I am, too," Lucas said.

"You got to hold her, right?" Julie asked.

Lucas continued to smile. "I did. She was so good. After a couple of unsure moments, she snuggled in and looked at me and then she fell asleep in my arms. I could not believe I was actually holding my daughter. She is so precious. But I have to take care of her, too."

"And you will," both women assured him.

Lucas nodded. "I have to."

"Well, we should let you call your uncle," Rosemary said. "I'll see if Lee is home and let him know. Come whenever you are ready to talk to Jack. Do you want Laura to be there?"

"That's probably a good idea," Lucas said. "She should know what's going on."

Rosemary nodded as she stood.

"We're going to do this, Lucas. Elizabeth will not have to worry about anything while she is trying to get well enough to come back to us."

"Thank you both so much," Lucas said again. "I really appreciate this."

"Absolutely," Rosemary said. "This is what we do."

"If it's okay, Lucas," Julie said, "I'd like to stay with you until you're ready to talk to Jack. I don't want you to be alone."

"I'm all right," he assured her, "but I wouldn't mind the company."

"You should stay," Rosemary agreed. "We'll be ready whenever you are."

"You're sure my sister is going to be all right?" Julie asked, after Rosemary had taken her leave.

"That's what Carson and Francine tell me."

"What is your instinct telling you, Lucas? Please. Be honest with me. You know my sister almost better than anyone now. I know you sensed something, good or bad, when you sat with her. You two have this amazing connection. I think you two know each other better than she and Jack did, if I'm being honest. If I should call my parents so they can get here, I need to know."

Lucas reached for his sister-in-law's hands to hold in his and looked at her with somber eyes. "Julie, I believe Elizabeth is going to be all right. Truthfully, I'm not sure how close they came to possibly losing her, and I don't know if I will ever want to know that much about what happened, but what I do know is that if her life were in danger now, Elizabeth would not be in the Infirmary. She would have been transported to another hospital or another doctor, a specialist most likely, would have been summoned to take care of her. It's a matter of time and patience until she can come back to us."

Julie nodded. "I trust you, Lucas. And I know my sister does, too. I will wait to call my parents, but you need to call your uncle. He should be with us when you talk to Jack."

Lucas nodded, not yet having released Julie's hands. "Are you all right?" he asked kindly, his eyes searching her face for the truth. "I know how close you and Elizabeth are, and I know how much you love and care about your sister."

"Yes. I'm okay. I couldn't wait to tell my parents and Alex the news, but now, I don't want to make any telephone calls until we know more about Elizabeth."

"I know. I'm not calling my parents just yet either. But I will call my uncle."

He released Julie's hands and walked to where the telephone sat while she watched. Her heart ached for him, too. She knew how much he loved her sister.

Please be all right, Elizabeth. Please.

When Ernie learned from his lady love that he had a call from Lucas, he expected to receive good news. Instead, he heard distress in his nephew's voice and a plea to come to his home as soon as he could. Without saying why, at Lucas's request, Ernie let Rick know he needed to cover for him and then he headed to the rowhouse.

"I got here as soon as I could," he told Lucas and Julie, upon being welcomed into the house. "What's going on?"

"Thank you, Uncle Ernie. I do have news. The good news is you are a great-uncle to a beautiful baby girl, Amelia Catherine. The bad news is Elizabeth had some difficulty and hasn't woken up since she gave birth."

"Oh, no," Ernie said, his voice filled with concern. "But Elizabeth will be all right, won't she?"

"That's the hope," Lucas said. "I need to tell Jack he won't be seeing a lot of me for probably the next few days at least and that he can't see his mother or sister right now. They're both staying at the Infirmary, and I want to be there as much as I can."

"Of course, absolutely. This is so sad. I'm very sorry, son. What can I do?"

"Join us at Rosemary and Lee's when I tell Jack. Carson thinks others should be around when I talk to him. Maybe try to spend some time with him if you can. Julie and Jack will be staying with Rosemary and Lee as long as Jack is okay with that plan."

"I will spend as much time with that little boy as you need me to. Julie, please forgive me. I did not even say hello when I walked in."

She waved off his concern. "It's fine. Believe me, I understand."

"This is such a difficult time. Congratulations, son, on the birth of Amelia, but oh my. I do hope Elizabeth will come back to us soon and be healthy."

"Thank you, Uncle Ernie. That's what we hope and pray for."

"I shall do the same."

"You're welcome to join our prayer vigil," Julie said. "Rosemary mentioned getting one organized."

"I will be there."

"We should go to Rosemary and Lee's," Lucas said. "Julie, feel free to come back here to get whatever you and Jack need. You know where most things are. We haven't changed much since we got married."

"I will. Thank you."

After hearing the light rap on the door, Rosemary ushered the trio into her home. After greetings had been exchanged, Lee congratulated Lucas on the birth of his daughter and then told him how sorry he was to hear about Elizabeth.

"Jack is upstairs," Rosemary told them. "Shall I go get them?"

Lucas rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Yes. I need to talk to him."

"Here, sit on the sofa," Lee motioned to Lucas and Julie.

He gathered chairs for the others and placed them so they faced the living room. Ernie sat in one of the chairs.

"There's your daddy," Lucas heard Rosemary say to Jack, as she carried David down the stairs, followed by Laura.

"Daddy!" Jack said, after spotting and making a beeline to sit next to him on the couch.

"Hello, son. How are you?"

"Fine. Where's Mama?" he asked, looking around.

"Mama's not here," Lucas explained.

"At home?" Jack asked.

"Mama's not there either, son. Why don't you sit on my lap for a minute? Daddy needs to talk to you."

While Lucas positioned Jack, the young boy began to look around and saw the serious faces.

"Uncle Ernie?" he asked, puzzled.

"Hello, Jack," Ernie said.

He smiled and waved at the young boy who still looked confused.

"Son, I need to talk to you about your mama," Lucas began.

Jack nodded as he looked at his father.

"Mama had her baby, Jack. You are the proud older brother of a beautiful baby girl. You have a sister, Jack!"

"'Kay," Jack said. "Where she?"

"Well, that's the thing. Mama and your sister need to spend more time with Dr. Carson."

"Oh. Tomorrow?"

"No, son. Probably not tomorrow or maybe not even the day after that. But hopefully soon, you will see your mama and your sister. We will all be home."

"Oh," Jack said, crestfallen. "Why?"

"Well, your mama needs to rest for a while."

"Not at home?" Jack asked, shaking his head.

"No, son. Unfortunately, Dr. Carson needs to watch Mama."

"Why?"

Lucas knew this was typical of a young child to keep asking why. He just wasn't sure exactly what to say to appease his son.

"Because Mama needs some extra help that only Dr. Carson can give her."

Jack nodded. "Mama okay?" he asked, looking at Lucas who knew the young boy wanted an honest answer from his father.

"Mama will be okay," Lucas answered, trying not to get emotional. "But Jack, Mama is not okay right now. That's why she has to be with Dr. Carson."

Jack nodded again and then threw his arms around his father and let him hold him.

"I know, son," he whispered. "But Mama is going to be all right."

"Mama not okay," he said, turning his head to look at his Aunt Julie whose heart was breaking for both of them.

"Mama will be okay, Jack," Julie tried to assure him.

She held out her arms if he wanted her to hug him, but he shook his head and held on tighter to his father who hugged him as tightly as he could without hurting him.

"Jack," Lucas said, when he felt the boy relaxing in his arms. "I need to be with Mama and your sister a lot. Will you stay here with Auntie Julie and Auntie Rosemary and Uncle Lee and let them take care of you while I take care of your mother and your sister?"

Jack pulled away from Lucas and looked at him. "'Kay."

Lucas smiled and wiped the tear he saw on Jack's smooth cheek. "Thank you, son. This means a lot to me. I will be here, just not very often. But your aunts and uncles will take excellent care of you, and guess what?"

"What?"

"You get to have sleepovers with David! That will be fun, right?"

Jack looked at David who smiled at him and nodded.

"Okay. I stay."

Lucas held him close once more. "I love you, Jack. You are my big boy and my wonderful son. I'm going to go so I can see how your mama is doing. The sooner Mama gets better, the sooner we can be a family again."

Jack nodded. "Want that."

I do, too, son. I absolutely do.

"Jack," Ernie said, "what if Uncle Bill and Uncle Lee and I take you to the stables tomorrow so you can spend some time with Sergeant and the other horses?"

"Really?" Jack asked, his blue eyes lighting up. "Yes, please."

"Good. We'll arrange it."

"And maybe Auntie Julie, Laura and I will come along to show David the horses, too," Rosemary said.

"I would love that," Julie said, happy her nephew seemed excited about an outing.

Laura thought that sounded like fun and something Jack would definitely enjoy. She felt so bad for the little boy and his parents. She prayed Elizabeth would be all right.

"And maybe," Lee added, "we can see Auntie Abigail afterwards and have a special treat."

"Okay!" Jack said, fully on board with what the adults had planned for him.

Lucas couldn't be more grateful for his family and friends or happier Jack seemed willing to be entertained.

"Looks like you will have quite a day," Lucas said.

Jack nodded, but Lucas saw the sadness in his son's eyes. "Miss you and Mama," he said.

"We will miss you, too, but I will be here before you go to sleep at night. Okay?"

"Okay. Read me story?" he asked hopefully.

"I will definitely read you a bedtime story or two or three," he said and tickled Jack to get him to laugh.

He needed to hear the young child's innocent laughter and was relieved when Jack rewarded him.

"I love you, Daddy," Jack said. "I love Mama, too. Tell her."

"I will definitely tell your mother how much you love her. I know your mama will love hearing it. You know she loves you, too. With all of her heart. Are we okay?"

Jack nodded and slid off Lucas's lap to sit next to Julie who placed her arm around him and drew him close while kissing the top of his head and ruffling his hair.

"I can't thank all of you enough," Lucas said, rising from the sofa. "Please know how much Elizabeth and I appreciate everything you are doing for us and Jack."

"Don't give it another thought," Rosemary said. "You just concentrate on helping your wife to feel better so she can come home and we can see her and that beautiful daughter of yours."

"I will do my best," Lucas assured them.

"I'll walk back with you," Ernie said. "I'll find Bill and let him know. Shall we say around eleven tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good," Lee said, shaking Ernie's hand. "We'll be ready."

"As soon as I get the prayer vigil organized," Rosemary said, "I'll let you know, Ernie."

"Thank you. I would appreciate that even though my many prayers have already been sent."

"Us, too," Lee said while Rosemary nodded.

"Bye, Jack," Lucas said, turning to look at his son once more before they left. "I love you."

"Love you," Jack said.

Lucas and Ernie were about to exit when Jack ran up to his father and asked for one more hug.

"Of course," Lucas said, kneeling down to hug his son. "Everything is going to be okay, Jack. I will see you tonight before you go to sleep."

"Promise?" he asked, not wanting to let his father go.

"I promise, son."

"'Kay."

Jack reluctantly let his father leave but remained standing close to Rosemary and Lee at the door and watched until he could no longer see him.

"You take it easy in there," Ernie said to Lucas when they reached the Infirmary. "I'll have Gustave make some hearty soup for you. Come by when you get hungry. You need to eat, so no arguments."

Lucas nodded. "You're right. I do. Thank you, Uncle Ernie. I'll be there later."

"Make sure your wife and your daughter know how much we love and care about them."

"I will."

Ernie waited until Lucas had entered the Infirmary and then, with a heavy heart, slowly made his way back to the Queen of Hearts, sending up another prayer for healing.

"How did it go?" Carson asked, after Lucas had spent some time with Elizabeth and Amelia, who were both sleeping soundly.

"As well as could be expected," Lucas replied. "Everyone is rallying around us and Jack. I promised him I would return before he went to sleep. If I can at least keep that promise, I think he'll be all right."

"You do whatever you need to. We'll be here. I sent Francine home to get some rest. She's going to come back tonight. I'm going to stay here, but I am going to try to get some sleep when Francine is here."

"Of course. My uncle is having Gustave make soup. Feel free to eat at the saloon whenever you want. Francine, too."

"Thank you. I will most likely take you up on that offer."

"I'm sorry about Faith," Lucas said, knowing the topic needed to be discussed. "The way she ran out made me think she felt responsible for what happened to Elizabeth. Have you talked to her?"

"Not yet. I keep thinking she's going to return, but so far she hasn't. What happened wasn't her fault, but I know why she believes it was. Things haven't been easy for us these past few months. I'm not sure my idea to mentor her was the best one in hindsight. It's affected both of our relationships. I want to talk to her, but I know and she knows my priority is here. I will reach out to her, though, and soon."

Lucas nodded. "I'm sorry for your troubles, too. This can't be easy, both personally and professionally."

Carson gave a sardonic laugh. "Silly me. I thought it would be. I thought Faith and I would have the best of both worlds. Instead, I've created more problems for us than I could have ever imagined. But things have a way of working out. We just need to talk this through and come to an understanding."

Amelia's soft cries alerted Lucas that his daughter needed him. He crossed to where she lay and looked at her as she tried to open her eyes, her tiny hands balled into fists.

"You can hold her," Carson encouraged. "Amelia was fed not too long ago and changed. Francine took care of her before she left. I think your daughter would like to be held. By her father."

Remembering how Francine showed him the correct way to pick her up and how to hold her, Lucas reached for his daughter, whose eyes were now open, and positioned her within his arms.

"There's my sweet girl," he said softly, making sure the small blanket covered her so she wouldn't be cold. "How are you?"

She emitted a few more soft whimpers and then nestled comfortably within the confines of Lucas's strong arms and looked at him. His heart swelled with love he didn't know he could feel for such a tiny human being who also happened to be his daughter. She had totally captured his heart and had mesmerized him. She trusted him, and that trust gave him the strength he needed to know everything would be fine. He just had to be…patient.

"Would you like to see your mama?" he asked. "I can show you to her. Mama is not awake, but let's talk to her and tell her we are here waiting for her. Let's do that, shall we?"

Carson smiled as Lucas stood at the side of Elizabeth's bed and showed Amelia her mother.

"That's your mama, Amelia. There she is. Mama is going to love seeing you when she wakes up. Isn't she beautiful? Just like you are, my precious daughter. And then, once Mama gets better, we'll take you home so you can see where you will be living, and you will get to meet your older brother Jack. Jack already loves you, and he is going to help us take care of you. Everything is going to be all right, Amelia. We just have to get through these next few days, and we will. We are going to have a wonderful life. You'll see."

Carson knew Lucas was saying those words out loud to convince himself more than his daughter, but he appreciated Lucas speaking in those terms, especially when he was standing so close to Elizabeth because he knew she needed the encouragement, too.

Becoming a bit fussy, Amelia tried to squirm and let out a small cry of discomfort, so after making sure she was secure in his arms, Lucas began to gently sway her to calm her down. He noticed she relaxed after a few minutes and then closed her eyes once more. He was astounded what he had done worked. He wasn't even sure he knew why or how to do it.

"I told you you're a natural," Carson said, impressed.

"Everything I've done for Jack and Amelia has been by instinct with Elizabeth's help," Lucas admitted. "I'm amazed some of my ideas have worked."

"You have good instincts," Carson told him honestly. "That helps."

Lucas sat down in the chair near Elizabeth's bed and continued to hold and gaze at his daughter. He could tell she had not fallen asleep but was resting comfortably, which pleased him.

"I'm holding our daughter, sweetheart," he said to Elizabeth. "Amelia can't wait to meet you, and I can't wait for you to meet her. Jack is doing all right. He is surrounded by our families and friends, and they have activities planned to keep him occupied. I promised him I would see him every night before he goes to sleep, and that's a promise I intend to keep. We're all right, Elizabeth. We just want you to get better so you can come back to us."

After looking at Elizabeth for a few long moments, he glanced down and realized Amelia had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

"I love you so much," he whispered not only to his wife but also to his sweet baby girl. "I just want us to be together the way we should be. I pray it happens soon."